Business Newsmakers

Alexander Field: Faster productivity growth an important part of economy' s revival : The Economist

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010

Professor Alexander Field’s research in productivity, suggesting that economic crisis could give advantage to some businesses now as it did in the 1930s, was noted by The Economist in a special report about the economy’s revival.

Field's research has found that the fastest efficiency improvements occurred in Depression-era America, leading some to believe that the most recent fiscal crisis could have a silver lining in productivity advance.

Although it's difficult to predict which industries could accelerate efficiencies, Field's research suggests that large scale, capital-intensive industries--like the railroads in the 1930s--may be the most likely to achieve productivity gains by responding to economic adversity.